Antiblister cage mat and method for raising broilers

ABSTRACT

An antiblister mat, particularly adapted for raising broilers in a cage having a mesh floor on which broilers normally cannot be raised blister-free, in which the broilers are installed and breast or keel bone blisters are minimized, in which the mat is substantially resilient and comprises a plurality of openings so dimensioned and arranged as to prevent the breast of the broiler, when sitting, from engaging the mesh floor of the cage, and in which the mat comprises various arcuate or tubular cross sections and in which the mat and cage are readily cleaned and sterilized, and permit manure and the like to drop or pushed by birds&#39;&#39; feet through the cage floor.

United States Patent n51 3,641,983 Keen et al. 1 Feb. 15, 1972 [54]ANTIBLISTER CAGE MAT AND 3,326,186 6/1967 l9/l9 METHOD FOR RAISINGBROILERS Inventors: Everett M. Keen; Anthony J. Slclllam,

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS both of vine'and, NJ. 1,081,293 4/1959France [73] Assignee: Diamond International Corporation, New primary E i-H h R. Chamblee York Attorney-Karl w. Flocks 22 Filed: 14, 1970 1 [57]ABSTRACT [21] App1.No.: 28,390

An antlbllnter mat, particularly adapted for raising broilers in a cagehaving a mesh floor on which broilers normally cannot [52] U.S.Cl..ll9/l7, 119/19 be raked i in which the broiler are insane! and [51]Ill. Cl. ..A01K 31/00 breas or keel bone miners are minimized in whichthe mat is 58 Field of Search ..119/17, 18, 19, 21, 22. 45-,substantially resilient and comprises a plurality of openings 80 229/6dimensioned and arranged as to prevent the breast of the broiler, whensitting, from engaging the mesh floor of the [56] m CM cage, and inwhich the mat comprises various arcuate or tubu- UNITED STATES PATENTS1a: cross sectioneand in which mat and cage are readily cleaned andstenlmed, and permlt manure and the like to drop 2,026,417 12/1935Conway et al. 19/19 pushed by birds feet through the cage floor.2,753,84l 7/1956 Hawkins 119/21 2,856,897 10/1958 Galinsky et a1. ..119/22 9 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures I? /A D I PATENTEUFEB 15 1912 3.641.983

-- 5+ n IL w M EVERETT M. KEEN ANTHONY u. SIC/L/A/VO K EL (L). FLqgcsATTORNEY ANTIBLISTER CAGE MAT AND METHOD FOR RAISING BROILERS BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This application relatesgenerally to animal husbandry, and more particularly to the raising ofpoultry in cages, and concerns the raising of broilers to approximatelythe age of about 8 weeks (ready for market) in cages.

2. Description of the Prior Art Cages for broiler raising have beenheretofore proposed, some of which included a woven wire floor having als-inch mesh, by 1 inch mesh and/or 1 inch by l inch plastic-coatedwoven wire has also been proposed. The particular problem involvedconcerns the unusual tendency of both susceptible and resistant" strainsof broilers to develop blisters on their keel or breast bones and skin,requiring excessive trimming away of blisters and a considerablereduction of salable meat. As presently advised, the exact reason forthe development of breast blisters has not been ascertained. Broilershave been raised for market under controlled conditions using strains ofbroilers resistant and susceptible" to brest blisters, the cage floorshave been washed daily to eliminate manure and the like, and both tubefeeders and feed troughs as well as nipple waterers were used, and yetblisters have developed to an undesirable degree. Additionally, thenumber of broilers per square feet of cage space was controlled.

The major conclusion of the prior art has been that growing broilers incages to prepare them ready for market is extremely difficult and hasbeen considerably hampered by the development of keel bone blisters onthe broilers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Applicants have concluded that when raisingbroilers through the marketing age of about 8 weeks when they are at asatisfactory marketing weight, the cage floor surface must provide acomfortable resting place where due to crowded conditions the birds tendto eat, drink, sleep or test while lying down on the cage floor. It is,of course, necessary to substantially immediately eliminate manuredroppings and it is important that the cage floor be kept particularlyclean, not only to prevent blisters. but also to eliminate thepossibility of other disease transmittal that could reek havoc in arelatively confined poultry house which might include as many as 12,000coops in which the broilers are being produced."

Applicants have found that an antiblister mat, preferably produced as athree-dimensional element, can be incor porated in conventional cagesand conform generally to the external dimensions of the cage floor. Thisthree-dimensional antiblister mat will incorporate a plurality ofopenings of sufficient dimension to permit manure to drop readilytherethrough, and the mat will be of such a character as to lay flatand/or bend and permit it to be readily washed and maintained in asubstantially clean and essentially sterile condition.

Further, the dimensions of the openings in the antiblister mat will besuch that even when the broiler is sitting, the keel or breast bonewould be maintained above the generally wire floor of the cage when thebroiler is from about 2 to 3 weeks old, and to a major extent theopenings will be such as to essentially provide a nest for the broilerswhen sitting or resting.

More particularly, the antiblister mat comprises a regular pattern oftransverse openings and will overlie in a generally flat relationshipthe mesh or open cage floor in which the broilers are to be raised; theopenings being bordered on at least two sides by three-dimensional andpreferably arcuate cross-sectioned elements, connected by intermediatestraps and/or three-dimensional elements arranged in a rectangularpattern in which the bordering elements have an arcuate cross sectionwhich is semicircular, elliptical, etc., as well as the provision ofclosed tubular bordering elements forming the through openings.

These, together with other and more specific objects and advantages willbecome apparent from a consideration of the following description whentaken in conjunction with the drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cage floorwith the antiblister mat of the invention disposed thereon; anintermediate portion of the mat and floor being broken away;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken on the plane of line 2- 2, FIG. 1,showing in phantom lines a broiler seated in one of the through openingsforming a nest" or support for the broiler;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 2, and showing anotherembodiment of the antiblister mat;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially on the plane ofline 4-4of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of the antiblister mat; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary end elevation of the floor mat of FIGS.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawing indetail, and first considering FIG. 1, the bottom of the cage isindicated generally at 10 and comprises a plurality of suitably woven orinterengaged, intersecting wires I2 and 14 which will be on /z-inchcenters to form %-inch square openings.

Removably overlying the bottom of the cage 10 is an antiblister matindicated generally at 15 and produced from a suitable molded plasticsuch as polyethylene or the like.

The antiblister mat incorporates a uniform pattern of transverseopenings 16 which are preferably at least three-fourths inch along theirnarrowest dimension, and in FIG. I are illustrated as being threefourths inch square. The openings I6 are bordered on at least two sidesby raised mutually parallel hollow elements, and in the preferredembodiment, comprising four of such elements disposed in mutual pairs toform square openings. The tubular elements extend longitudinally andtransversely and are identified at I8 and 20, respectively, and theterminal ends are squared off with the overall dimensions of the matsubstantially confirming to the dimensions and outline of the wirebottom 10. As seen in FIG. 2, the elements 18 and 20 have a semicircularcross section and define at the upper edge of the openings 16, aradiused upper peripheral margin 22 which normally directs debris andmanure, for example, to the screen bottom therebelow, and the openings16 together with the upwardly diverging and radiused margin 22 define anesting area for the broiler B. The broilers should be installed in thecages as soon as possible and raised therein until they attain marketingweight; the birds before being fattened are relatively gawky, havinglong legs and a small body. The opening or nest formed by the portions16 and 22 provide a highly desirable nesting and resting area for thebird being fattened to market.

The mat 14, preferably being produced from molded plastics, is readilywashed and/or sterilized and can assume various cross-sectional shapes.

Referring to FIG. 3, another embodiment of antiblister mat is indicatedgenerally at 35 and comprises longitudinal and transverse elements 38and 40, these elements being arranged according to the same generalproportions of the mat I4 and as illustrated in FIG. 2. Elements 38 and40 in this embodiment comprise closed tubular elements having anelliptical cross section; however, these elements can also be circularin cross section (not shown). The elements 38 and 40 combine to define aregular pattern of rectangular openings 36 bordered at both their upperand lower edges by an outwardly diverging radiused periphery 42 and 42',respectively.

Referring to FIG. 5, a still further embodiment of the mat is indicatedgenerally at 114, and comprises a plurality of generally mutuallyparallel, semicircular cross-sectioned elements I38, formingtherebetween openings I16, and the elements 138 are connected bytransverse, flat straps 140 which are generally in the plane of thelower edge of elements [38. The elements I38. as seen in FIG. 6, have asemicircular cross section and define therebetween downwardly convergingsides 122, of an elongated nesting area 116 which also convenientlypermits the broiler B to nest thereon without engaging the wire bottomIt).

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the scope of the invention and theinvention is not to be considered limited to what is shown in thedrawings and described in the specification.

What is claimed is:

1. An antiblister cage mat arrangement for cage-raising broilers anddeterring the development of blisters on the keel or breast bone skin ormeat of the broilers, comprising in combination with an open mesh cagefloor, mat means comprising a body including an outer dimensionsubstantially conforming to and overlying the mesh floor of the cage,

said mat means including a generally planar lower surface and arepetitive series of through openings, said openings being defined on atleast two sides by marginal, tubular, resilient elements.

2 The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which the openings are at leastthree-fourths inch along one dimension for preventing the breast bone ofa normal 4-week-old broiler from engaging the mesh floor beneath the matmeans.

3. An antiblister cage mat arrangement for cage-raising broilers anddeterring the development of blisters on the keel or breast bone skin ormeat of the broilers, comprising in combination with an open mesh cagefloor, mat means comprising a body including an outer dimensionsubstantially conforming to and overlying the mesh floor of the cage,said mat means including a generally planar lower surface and arepetitive series of through openings, said openings being defined on atleast two sides by marginal resilient elements which are at leastpartially tubular.

4. The structure as claimed in claim 3 in which said series ofrepetitive openings are rectangular and are bordered on all sides bythree-dimensional elements having an arcuate cross section.

5. The structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said border ing elementsdefine a rectangular opening and are semicircular in cross section.

6. The structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said bordering elementsare tubular.

7. The structure as claimed in claim 6, in which said bordering elementsare elliptical in cross section.

8. The structure as claimed in claim 3, in which said openings areelongated and rectangular in plan, defined by said resilient elementswhich are in the form of two side ribs extending in substantiallymutually parallel relation, the ribs being three-dimensional andconnected adjacent the lower margin thereof by transverse straps.

9. The structure as claimed in claim 8 in which said ribs are arcuate incross section and said straps are flat, project between the lower edgesof the arcuate ribs.

I F i

1. An antiblister cage mat arrangement for cage-raising broilers anddeterring the development of blisters on the keel or breast bone skin ormeat of the broilers, comprising in combination with an open mesh cagefloor, mat means comprising a body including an outer dimensionsubstantially conforming to and overlying the mesh floor of the cage,said mat means including a generally planar lower surface and arepetitive series of through openings, said openings being defined on atleast two sides by marginal, tubular, resilient elements.
 2. Thestructure as claimed in claim 1 in which the openings are at leastthree-fourths inch along one dimension for preventing the breast bone ofa normal 4-week-old broiler from engaging the mesh floor beneath the matmeans.
 3. An antiblister cage mat arrangement for cage-raising broilersand deterring the development of blisters on the keel or breast boneskin or meat of the broilers, comprising in combination with an openmesh cage floor, mat means comprising a body including an outerdimension substantially conforming to and overlying the mesh floor ofthe cage, said mat means including a generally planar lower surface anda repetitive series of through openings, said openings being defined onat least two sides by marginal resilient elements which are at leastpartially tubular.
 4. The structure as claimed in claim 3 in which saidseries of repetitive openings are rectangular and are bordered on allsides by three-dimensional elements having an arcuate cross section. 5.The structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said bordering elementsdefine a rectangular opening and are semicircular in cross section. 6.The structure as claimed in claim 4 in which said bordering elements aretubular.
 7. The structure as claimed in claim 6, in which said borderingelements are elliptical in cross section.
 8. The structure as claimed inclaim 3, in which said openings are elongated and rectangular in plan,defined by said resilient elements which are in the form of two sideribs extending in substantially mutually parallel relation, the ribsbeing three-dimensiOnal and connected adjacent the lower margin thereofby transverse straps.
 9. The structure as claimed in claim 8 in whichsaid ribs are arcuate in cross section and said straps are flat, projectbetween the lower edges of the arcuate ribs.